Department for Transport

Railways: Hunting

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many incidents of (a) hunts and hounds trespassing on the railway and (b) (i) hounds and (ii) other animals, being struck by a train whilst on a hunt have been recorded since 1 January 2021.

Margaret Ferrier: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many delays of more than 30 minutes have been caused to trains by hunts and hounds trespassing on the railway since 1 January 2021; and what steps he is taking to prevent these incidents from occurring.

Huw Merriman: We do not hold this information.

Roads: Darlington

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent consideration he has given to progressing the Darlington Northern Link Rd plan.

Mr Richard Holden: National Highways and Tees Valley Combined Authority have worked closely on developing proposals for a Darlington Northern Link Road, connecting the A66 and Junction 59 of the A1. The work to date will form part of the wider body of evidence informing the Investment Plan for the third Road Investment Strategy or future road periods beyond 2025.

Clean Air Zones

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to monitor the compliance of local authorities establishing clean air zones with the policy paper entitled Clean air zone framework, updated on 6 October 2022.

Jesse Norman: The Joint Air Quality Unit’s evaluation programme aims to ensure that the nitrogen dioxide (NO2) programme is delivering its stated aims.There are two main strands to the evaluation programme:Local monitoring: all local authorities are required to monitor changes to air quality and traffic (traffic count and Automatic Number Plate Recognition fleet data) in the relevant areas and report this data to the Joint Air Quality Unit quarterly. Local authorities may choose to conduct further monitoring activity or evaluate the wider impacts of their air quality improvement measures in more detail.Central evaluation: this aggregates data from across the different local authorities implementing air quality improvement measures. Where possible, this is used to inform the development and delivery of air quality improvement measures as well as providing a stronger evidence base for air quality policy making. Traffic data will be analysed to provide percentage compliance rates of each vehicle class in regards to the Clean Air Zone emissions standards i.e. percentage of Euro 6 vehicles.The second annual report for the evaluation was published on 12 May 2022 and covers the evaluation findings from 2021, including early analysis following the launch of the Bath Clean Air Zone.In addition, the UK’s Air Quality Standards Regulations 2010 require the UK to undertake air quality assessment to assess legal compliance against air pollutant concentration limit and target values and report the findings and associated data on an annual basis. This assessment is done for all local authorities not just those establishing Clean Air Zones.

Clean Air Zones

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of clean air zones were implemented using the Clean Air Zone Central Services in the latest period for which data is available.

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles were charged a fee for entering a clean air zone by age of vehicle in the latest period for which data is available.

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many vehicles were charged for using clean air zones that are serviced by Clean Air Zone Central Services by age of vehicle in the latest period for which data is available.

Jesse Norman: Currently there are four live Clean Air Zones, all using the Clean Air Zone Central Services. These are:Bath and North East Somerset (live from 15th March 2021)Birmingham (live from 1st June 2021)Portsmouth (live from 29th November 2021)Bradford (live from 26th September 2022)The number of vehicles classified by the Clean Air Zone Central Services as subject to a charge across all live Clean Air Zones is shown in the table below. The Government does not hold data split by the age of the vehicle.Local authorities are responsible for the enforcement of charging as well as the administration of local exemptions.PeriodTotal Non-Compliant Entrants14 March 2021 to 31 March 20223,603,1011 April 2022 to 31 October 20222,010,081

Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his policy on the Transport Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill on worker morale.

Huw Merriman: This legislation aims to fairly balance the rights of workers to take strike action, with the rights of others to travel to their place of work, and access healthcare and education, by ensuring a minimum level of service continues to operate during strikes in specified transport services.

West Coast Main Line: Franchises

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the franchise agreement for the West Coast Main Line will be due for renewal.

Huw Merriman: The WCP contract is due for renewal on 1 April 2023.

Aviation: Compensation

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that airlines provide suitable accommodation for passengers in need of accommodation as a result of cancelled flights.

Jesse Norman: Air passenger rights for cancellations, denied boarding or long delays, including the right to care such as food and accommodation are set out under Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 as retained in UK law.The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), as the UK’s aviation regulator, is responsible for enforcing consumer protections in aviation, and will take enforcement action where it sees systemic breaches of consumer rights.

Department for Transport: Redundancy Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what total amount of money has been paid out by his Department in severance payments for former (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers since 29 June 2022; how much of that money has subsequently been repaid to his Department as a result of individuals (A) rejecting the payment or (B) returning to new roles; and in how many cases where individuals were in post for (I) 0-3 months, (II) 3-6 months, (III) 6-12 months and (IV) more than 12 months has their full severance payment been retained as of 2 November 2022.

Jesse Norman: The Provision of severance payments for Ministers is set out in legislation. Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in departments’ annual reports and accounts.Similarly, the provision of severance payments for special advisers is set out in the Model Contract, which is available on gov.uk, including provisions for repayment of severance if reappointed. The cost of severance payments made to special advisers across government is published annually by the Cabinet Office.

Aviation: EU Countries

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the European Union Aviation Safety Agency and (b) EU member states on aviation matters.

Jesse Norman: We maintain a productive dialogue with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and EU Member States on aviation matters.Officials at the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have engaged in discussions with EASA in preparations for the 41st ICAO Assembly.The Civil Aviation Authority, as the regulator for aviation safety in the UK, also has regular engagement with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on a range of regulatory matters, including those covered under the UK/EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).UK Ministers and officials at the Department for Transport have been engaging regularly with EU Member States on a range of aviation matters, including cooperation on shared priorities during the 41st ICAO Assembly, our response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and on areas covered under the UK/EU TCA.

Driving Instruction: Standards

James Daly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the pass rates were for each driving instructor in England in the latest period for which data is available; and whether his Department is taking steps to (a) increase quality standards in that profession and (b) introduce recognition for driving instructors with consistently high pass rates.

Mr Richard Holden: The pass rates of individual approved driving instructors (ADI) are not published. Not all driving test candidates are taught to drive by an approved instructor and so not all completed driving tests will contain data relating to an ADI. It is also a matter of choice, by the ADI, to display their certificate of registration when they put forward a candidate for test.

Northern Ireland Office

Chief Electoral Officer for Northern Ireland

Carla Lockhart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, how many times he has met with the Chief Electoral Officer in Northern Ireland in the last two months.

Mr Steve Baker: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met with the Chief Electoral Officer once in the last two months.In addition, the Chief Electoral Officer has frequent and regular communication with officials in the Northern Ireland Office to discuss operational matters.

Attorney General

Attorney General: Correspondence and Written Questions

Jessica Morden: To ask the Attorney General, what steps their Department is taking to reduce the time taken to respond to (a) written parliamentary questions and (b) correspondence from Members of Parliament.

Michael Tomlinson: All government departments have access to regular training led by the Parliamentary Capability Team through the Government Campus. The Attorney General’s Office attaches great importance to the effective and timely handling of Parliamentary Questions (PQs) and correspondence and remains committed to providing the highest level of service. Between the period of May to July inclusive, the Attorney General’s Office answered 74% of written Parliamentary Questions on time. For the same period, 97% of all Ministerial correspondence was answered on time.

Department of Health and Social Care

Health Services

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative assessment of the level of access to healthcare for people in (a) the UK and (b) Europe.

Will Quince: We have no plans to make a specific assessment.

NHS: Pay

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if the Government will make it its policy to increase NHS pay in line with inflation.

Will Quince: The independent Pay Review Body process is the established mechanism for determining pay uplifts in the public sector, including for staff working in the National Health Service.The Pay Review Bodies consist of industry experts which consider a range of evidence when formulating its recommendations, including cost of living, inflation, recruitment, retention, morale, and value for the taxpayer. The Bodies receive evidence from stakeholders, such as the Government, NHS system partners and trades unions. The Government considers the recommendations of the Pay Review Bodies before responding. In 2022/23, the recommendations were accepted in full and backdated to April 2022.

Department of Health and Social Care: Email

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, to outline what security guidance he has received on the use of his personal email addresses for ministerial work.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what security guidance his Department's ministerial team have received on using their personal email addresses for ministerial work.

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on what occasions Ministers in his Department have received security briefings on using their personal email addresses for ministerial work since taking up post in the last 12 months.

Will Quince: It is not Government policy to comment on individual Ministers’ security arrangements. Ministers receive support and expert advice to help them meet their obligations in the most appropriate and secure fashion. That includes regular security briefings for Ministers and advice on protecting their personal data and mitigating cyber threats.

Dental Services: Fees and Charges

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to exempt people who were prescribed tetracycline from future dental costs.

Neil O'Brien: There are no current plans to do so. There are a range of exemptions to dental patient charges and support is also available through the NHS Low Income Scheme for those patients ineligible for an exemption or full remission.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of adults in England are on a waiting list for NHS treatment as of 7 November 2022.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what percentage of adults in England are on an NHS waiting list for medical treatment.

Will Quince: This information is not collected in the format requested.

Breast Cancer: Edmonton

Kate Osamor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the uptake of breast cancer screening in Edmonton constituency.

Helen Whately: The government has invested £10 million into the NHS to establish more breast screening units across the country.NHS Breast Screening Providers are also being encouraged to work with cancer alliances, primary care networks, NHSE regional teams and the voluntary sector, to bring together work to promote uptake of breast screening and take action to ensure as many people as possible can access services.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to raise awareness of myalgic encephalomyelitis amongst GPs and other doctors.

Helen Whately: General Practitioners and other doctors are responsible for ensuring their clinical knowledge remains up-to-date as part of their continuing professional development. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published an updated guideline on Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/ Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS) in October 2021, to improve awareness and understanding about ME/CFS. This guideline includes recommendations on diagnosis and management. NICE promotes its guidance via its website, newsletters and other media.

Medical Equipment: Energy

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which Minister in in his Department is responsible for ensuring the safety of people with long-term health conditions who use lifesaving equipment, including ventilators and dialysis machines, in their own homes in the event of power blackouts this winter; and if his Department will publish its plans for protecting these individuals.

Helen Whately: I have Ministerial responsibility for people with long-term conditions. In a power outage scenario, the Priority Services Register is maintained by electricity network operators to support the most vulnerable.

Sleep Apnoea: Medical Equipment

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what contingencies are in place for people using sleep apnoea machines, in the event of energy blackouts in winter 2022-23.

Helen Whately: Care providers and suppliers support those with long term conditions to safely use medical equipment at home and in cases where the equipment is disrupted. In a power outage scenario, the Priority Services Register is maintained by electricity network operators to target support to the most vulnerable customers.

Cancer: Health Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to improve outcomes for cancer patients.

Helen Whately: The NHS Long Term Plan set out the ambition to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028. The National Health Service is establishing non-specific symptom pathways for patients presenting with symptoms which cannot be aligned to a specific cancer type. We are also expanding Targeted Lung Health Checks and the ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign is continuing to raise awareness of potential symptoms of cancers.

Cancer: Health Services

James Daly: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of improvements in outcomes for the less survivable cancers, including cancers of the brain, stomach, lungs, pancreas, oesophagus and liver over the last 20 years.

Helen Whately: No specific assessment has been made.

Integrated Care Systems

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to adapt, implement and promote existing best practice, and ensure high standards and successful local leadership are promoted across new integrated health and care partnerships; and if he will make a statement.

Helen Whately: The Department have shared best practice case studies for integrated care partnerships in ‘Integrated care partnership (ICP): engagement summary’ and the ‘Guidance on the preparation of integrated care strategies’. We have also been working with partners to provide a range of support and resources for the establishment and development of ICPs.

Care Homes: Coronavirus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support care homes dealing with covid-19 outbreaks over the winter 2022-23 period.

Helen Whately: In the event of a suspected outbreak, the Government’s guidance states that the care home should inform the local health protection team or other relevant partner to provide advice and support on the clinical situation. Testing should be undertaken to prevent further transmission and the guidance offers flexibility on further temporary measures which may be taken to manage the outbreak, subject to a risk assessment. We are working with local partners and the care sector to ensure the guidance can be deployed proportionately during the winter.

Cancer: Waiting Lists

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department plans to take to reduce waiting times for cancer treatment.

Helen Whately: The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including cancer services. The plan states the ambition that the number of people waiting more than 62 days to start treatment following suspected cancer will return to pre-pandemic levels by March 2023. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity, including cancer services.

Dementia: Health Services

Alicia Kearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans his Department has to improve dementia care in the NHS in the next 10 years.

Helen Whately: In 2021/22, £17 million was made available to clinical commissioning groups to address dementia waiting lists and increase the number of diagnoses. Work to improve dementia diagnosis rates will continue in 2022/23.We will also double funding for dementia research to £160 million a year by 2024/25. This will include research into its causes, prevention, treatment and care.

Ovarian Cancer: Health Education

Alberto Costa: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of awareness campaigns for ovarian cancer and delivering a shorter diagnosticpathway.

Helen Whately: NHS England is currently running a campaign focusing on increasing earlier diagnosis of a range of abdominal and urological cancers, including ovarian cancer, which was previously conducted in 2020 and 2021. In 2021 a survey of the target audience showed that knowledge of the key symptoms of abdominal and urological cancer increased by 6% during the campaign.

Care Homes: Protective Clothing

Mr Richard Holden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to remove the recommendation that care home staff wear face masks; and what recent assessment he has made of the impact of that recommendation on communication with residents with dementia and deafness.

Helen Whately: In adult social care, the guidance continues to recommend that all care home staff and visitors wear masks to provide protection for residents from COVID-19. The guidance allows for masks to not be used if, as part of a risk assessment, its use is considered particularly challenging for the resident, such as for residents with dementia and deafness. The Department has commissioned a review of this guidance to ensure it reflects the latest available evidence and safe and proportionate infection prevention and control principles.

Heart Diseases: Health Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people with left heart syndrome receive efficient treatment.

Helen Whately: Surgical treatment for hypoplastic left heart syndrome is available in Level 1 National Health Service children’s cardiac centres. While the treatment planning for children can include several operations during their lifetime, the exact nature and timing of any further surgery will depend on the child’s progress. Whilst surgery can give a better quality of life, it is not possible to correct the heart abnormality. After surgery the child will receive follow up treatment and have lifelong care with a cardiologist trained in congenital heart diseases.

Department of Health and Social Care: Railways

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much her Department spent on first class train travel for (a) ministers and (b) civil servants in (i) 2020, (i) 2021 and (iii) 2022.

Will Quince: There was no first class train travel by Departmental Ministers in 2020, 2021 and 2022.Expenditure on Ministerial commercial travel is published quarterly on GOV.UK, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications#2022The following table shows the cost of first class train travel taken by civil servants in each year since 2020.2020£12,135.402021£5,464.552022£4,031.50Total£21,631.45

Dementia: Research

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funds her Department has committed to dementia research.

Helen Whately: We have committed to double funding for dementia research to £160 million a year by 2024/25.

Hospices: Finance

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to increase long term funding for hospices.

Helen Whately: Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning and determining the appropriate funding arrangements for palliative and end of life care services, including hospices, in response to the needs of the local population. In July 2022, NHS England published statutory guidance for commissioners on palliative and end of life care, setting out the considerations for ICBs in order to meet its legal duties.

Life Expectancy: Exeter

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of life expectancy in Exeter constituency.

Neil O'Brien: No specific assessment has been made.

Life Expectancy: Liverpool Wavertree

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of life expectancy in Liverpool Wavertree constituency.

Neil O'Brien: No specific assessment has been made.

Food: Advertising

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the press notice by his Department entitled Government delays restrictions on multibuy deals and advertising on TV and online, published on 14 May 2022, what steps his Department is taking to bring forward legislative proposals to amend the implementation date for the introduction of TV and online restrictions for paid advertising of foods high in fat, salt and sugar.

Neil O'Brien: We will provide further information on how the delay to the legislation will be implemented in due course.

Doctors: Training

Anthony Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what is the estimated cost to Government of training a single doctor from medical school through to the completion of the Foundation Programme.

Will Quince: The Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent estimates that the cost of training an individual from the beginning of medical school to the end of the foundation training programme is approximately £327,000. This includes discounting, salaries to the trainee during the foundation stage, living expenses and other costs of training.

Health: Bradford East

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps her Department has taken to help tackle health inequality in Bradford East constituency.

Imran Hussain: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of trends in the level of healthy life expectancy in Bradford East constituency.

Neil O'Brien: The Government is committed to supporting individuals to live healthier lives and improving access to health and care services, including in Bradford East constituency. The Department continues to review how health disparities can be addressed and further information will be available in due course.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities also works with services in Bradford East constituency to support programmes to reduce health inequalities, including providing evidence and intelligence.

Paediatrics: Kent

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time was for paediatrics appointments in Kent and Medway in the latest period for which data is available.

Will Quince: In March 2022, the average waiting time for an outpatient appointment in the Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group where the main specialty was paediatric-related was 274 days.

Coronavirus: Kidney Diseases

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help protect patients with chronic kidney disease from covid-19.

Helen Whately: We are continuing to provide support for those at higher risk from COVID-19 infection, which may include patients with chronic kidney disease, through prioritisation for vaccinations and booster doses, access to therapeutic and antiviral treatments and additional guidance on protective behaviours, which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk/covid-19-guidance-for-people-whose-immune-system-means-they-are-at-higher-risk

Heart Diseases: Screening

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the answer of 18th July 2022 to Question 26734 on Heart Diseases: Screening, whether he is taking steps to reduce waiting times for echocardiography.

Will Quince: The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ sets out how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including in echocardiography. To increase diagnostic activity and reduce patient waiting times, the Department has committed £2.3 billion for up to 160 community diagnostic centres (CDCs). As of 23 October 2022, CDCs have now completed 54,759 additional echocardiography checks since 13 July 2021.

Pancreatic Cancer: Diagnosis

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of novel methods for the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of novel methods for the early diagnosis of ovarian cancer.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of novel methods for the early diagnosis of kidney cancer.

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support the development of novel methods for the early diagnosis of brain cancer.

Helen Whately: The NHS Long Term Plan sets out the ambition for 75% of cancers to be diagnosed at stage one or two by 2028. A recent ‘Help Us Help You’ campaign focused on the barriers to earlier presentation in all cancer types, which has led to a 1600% increase in visits to advice on cancer symptoms at NHS.UK.The National Health Service is implementing non-specific symptom pathways for patients presenting with symptoms which do not clearly align to a tumour type, with 96 pathways currently operational in England. These pathways will support the NHS to meet the new Faster Diagnosis Standard which will ensure all patients referred for the investigation of suspected cancer receive an outcome within 28 days.

Surgery: Plymouth Sutton and Devonport

Luke Pollard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce waiting times for elective surgeries in Plymouth Sutton and Devonport constituency.

Will Quince: The ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’ how the National Health Service will recover and expand elective services over the next three years, including in Plymouth Sutton and Devonport. We have allocated more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund and £700 million Targeted Investment Fund already made available in 2021/2022 to increase elective activity. This funding aims to deliver the equivalent of approximately nine million additional checks and procedures and 30% further elective activity by 2024/25 than pre-pandemic levels. A proportion of this funding will be invested in workforce capacity and training and we have committed to invest £5.9 billion for new beds, equipment and technology.The target to eliminate waiting times of two years or more for elective procedures was met in July 2022 and we aim to eliminate waiting time of eighteen months or more by April 2023. This will be achieved through increasing capacity, seeking alternate capacity in other trusts or the independent sector and engaging with patients to understand choices made regarding their care.

Healthcare Travel Costs Scheme

Luke Hall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to review the qualifying criteria for the NHS Healthcare Travel Cost Scheme.

Neil O'Brien: There are no plans to review the qualifying criteria.

Community Diagnostic Centres: Staff

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that new community diagnostic centres do not move diagnostic healthcare professionals from acute hospital sites.

Will Quince: NHS England is ensuring that local systems develop workforce plans for community diagnostic centres (CDCs), which include reliable recruitment routes to deliver the required staffing. Investment in digital diagnostics is anticipated to deliver an approximate increase of 10% in workforce productivity and reduce demands on staff in diagnostic services.Where a dedicated workforce for a CDC is not yet in place, local systems are asked to rotate staff between acute settings and CDCs, which minimises the risk to acute services and includes the use of digital staff passports.

Health: Luton South

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps her Department has taken to help tackle health inequality in Luton South.

Rachel Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of healthy life expectancy in Luton South constituency.

Neil O'Brien: The Government is committed to supporting individuals to live healthier lives, and at the heart of this is improving access to and levelling-up health and care across the country, including in Luton South. The Department continues to review how health disparities can be addressed and further information will be available in due course.The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities also works with services in Luton South to support programmes to reduce health inequalities, including providing evidence and intelligence.

Monkeypox: Vaccination

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to develop and implement a nationwide vaccination awareness programme for Monkeypox.

Neil O'Brien: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has secured regular national media coverage, including in LGBT media outlets, on social media, marketing and video content. The UKHSA is developing a sustained education programme in addition to these communications and considering how this will evolve alongside other sexual health protection messages.

Primary Health Care: Vaccination

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what his Department's policy is on the future role of (a) pharmacies and (b) primary care in delivering future vaccination programmes; and if he will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England is considering future strategy for delivery of vaccinations and engaging with providers of vaccination services, the public and other partners. These discussions will inform future proposals, which will be discussed with stakeholders in due course.

Monkeypox: Vaccination

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take immediate steps to ensure access to early Monkeypox vaccination in Darlington constituency.

Neil O'Brien: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) established the monkeypox vaccine strategy in July, endorsed by Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Two doses are being offered to a defined high-risk cohort in England. We have procured over 150,000 vaccine doses, which when delivered through fractional dosing, will provide sufficient stock to deliver the current vaccination strategy in full. The National Health Service is responsible for implementing the vaccination programme regionally, with 2,654 doses administered in the Northeast and Yorkshire region as of 2 November.

Organs: Donors

Sir Alan Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will carry out a review of NHS patient engagement processes in order to (a) ensure parents and guardians are fully supported in deciding whether to make organs available for donation when a child dies and (b) identify ways to raise public awareness of the benefits of organ donation.

Neil O'Brien: NHS Blood and Transplant’s ‘UK Paediatric and Neonatal Deceased Donation: A Strategic Plan by the Paediatric Subgroup of the National Organ Donation Committee’ was published in March 2019, which is available at the following link:https://nhsbtdbe.blob.core.windows.net/umbraco-assets-corp/15402/paediatric-and-neonatal-deceased-donation-strategy-final.pdfThe plan includes increased support for families throughout the donation process, additional dedicated training and support for clinical staff caring for paediatric patients, the development of new screening and assessment processes and continued work with coroners and the Procurators Fiscal to enable more donations to proceed.As of September 2020, blood, organ and stem cell donation was added to the National Curriculum for all secondary schools in England. In addition, NHS Blood and Transplant deliver year-round public engagement activity, which aligns with events such as Organ Donation Week to raise awareness.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the MHRA and the NHS exchange information about suspected adverse reactions to covid-19 vaccines with the European Medicines Agency's EudraVigilance system; and whether the incidence of such adverse reactions in the UK is similar to that in the European Economic Area.

Neil O'Brien: Since leaving the European Union, suspected adverse reaction reports from the United Kingdom, excluding those from Northern Ireland, are subject to Human Medicines Regulations 2012, Part 11, and Schedule 12A. This requires the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory (MHRA) to share all Yellow Card reports on potential side effects to medicines with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Uppsala Monitoring Centre and pharmaceutical companies.According to the Northern Ireland Protocol, such reports from Northern Ireland remain under European Pharmacovigilance Legislation and therefore Directive 2010/84/EU and Regulation (EU) 1235/2010 apply. This requires the MHRA to share all such Yellow Card reports from Northern Ireland with the European Medicines Agency (EMA). In line with the legislation, the EMA also makes this information available to the WHO’s Uppsala Monitoring Centre and pharmaceutical companies. The MHRA removes all the person identifiers before sharing these reports.Due to country-specific variations in the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines and access to exposure data, direct comparisons in the incidence of suspected adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines occur in different countries remain challenging. However, monitoring of the adverse reaction data for the COVID-19 vaccines has indicated the observed safety profiles of the vaccines used in the UK vaccination programme are similar to those observed in EudraVigilance.

Neurology: Recruitment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to (a) recruit and (b) retain neurology (i) staff and (ii) consultants.

Will Quince: NHS England retains oversight of local workforce plans and is updated on vacancy rates. However, recruitment and retention is undertaken at trust level, including in neurology services.The Department has commissioned NHS England to develop a long-term workforce plan. The plan will consider the number of staff and the roles required and will set out the actions and reforms needed to improve workforce supply and retention. Health Education England has also increased the number of postgraduate neurology training posts in England by 10 from August 2022.

Department for Education

Students: Cost of Living

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what support her Department is providing to students in university accommodation with the cost of living.

Robert Halfon: The department recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year, which have impacted students. Many higher education (HE) providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance.There is £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help. The department has worked with the Office for Students (OfS) to ensure universities support students in hardship, using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.In addition, all households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Bill introduced on 12th October 2022 includes the provision to require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support, as appropriate, onto end users. Further details of the requirements under this legislation will be set out in regulations.Students whose bills are included in their rent, including energy charges, will typically have agreed their accommodation costs upfront when signing their contract for the current academic year. Businesses, including those that provide student accommodation, are covered by the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which provides energy bill relief for non-domestic customers in the UK. A Treasury-led review will be launched to consider how to support households and businesses with energy bills after April 2023.The department has continued to increase living costs support with a 2.3% increase for maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for the current 2022/23 academic year. Students who have been awarded a loan for living costs for the 2022/23 academic year that is lower than the maximum, and whose household income for the 2022/23 tax year has dropped by at least 15% compared to the income provided for their original assessment, can apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.The government is reviewing options for uprating maximum loans and grants for the 2023/24 academic year, and an announcement will follow in the autumn. We need to ensure the HE student finance system remains financially sustainable and the costs of HE are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university. At a time of tight fiscal restrictions we will need to consider spending on student finance alongside other priorities.

Further Education and Schools: Remembrance Day

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to promote participation among schools and colleges in Remembrance Day activities.

Nick Gibb: Many schools already undertake activities to mark Remembrance Day, but they are free to decide which events to commemorate and what activities to put in place.Schools have the opportunity to promote Remembrance Day through subjects such as history and citizenship, which seek to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of military conflict, the role of the Armed Forces and the impact on civilians. This content can be incorporated into other lessons, themed activities, projects and assemblies.

Schools: Essex

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the impact of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme on schools (a) in Witham constituency and (b) Essex.

Nick Gibb: Schools are eligible for the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, which will run until at least 31 March 2023. This will protect schools from high energy costs and give them greater certainty over their budgets over the winter months. The details of the scheme can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/energy-bill-relief-scheme-help-for-businesses-and-other-non-domestic-customers.Schools are also being supported by cash increases to the core schools budget, including a £4 billion increase this financial year. Schools in Witham are attracting £61.7 million in total this financial year through the National Funding Formula (NFF), a 3.5% cash increase. This reflects 2.7% more per pupil in their pupil-led funding compared to the 2021/22 financial year. Schools’ actual allocations in the 2022/23 financial year will be based on local authorities’ local funding formulae. On top of this funding through the NFF, schools in Witham are seeing a further £1.8 million through the schools supplementary grant.Through the dedicated schools grant and the schools supplementary grant for mainstream schools combined, Essex is seeing an extra £68.2 million for schools in the 2022/23 financial year, an increase of 5.8% per pupil, this per pupil funding increase excludes ‘growth’ funding. This takes total funding for the 2022/23 financial year in Essex to over £1.05 billion.The Department knows that every school’s circumstances are different. Schools in serious financial difficulty should contact their local authority or the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

Higher Education: Finance

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the financial sustainability of the Higher Education sector.

Robert Halfon: The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England. The OfS monitors the financial viability and sustainability of providers registered with them, to ensure they have an up to date understanding of the sustainability of the sector.The latest report published by the OfS stated that, despite the many operational and financial challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall aggregate financial position of universities, colleges and other registered HE providers remains sound. However, there continues to be significant variation in the financial performance and strength of individual HE providers. The environment remains challenging, and providers will need to adapt to uncertainties and financial risks to protect their longer-term sustainability.Departmental officials meet regularly with the OfS to oversee the overall financial sustainability for HE providers and identify emerging risks and issues for the English HE sector as a whole.The department will continue to work closely with the OfS and other parties, including a variety of universities, mission groups and other government departments to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the HE sector.

Childcare: Costs

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to increase the affordability of childcare.

Claire Coutinho: The department has spent over £3.5 billion in each of the past three years on early education entitlements, and continues to support families with the cost of childcare through Tax-Free Childcare and Universal Credit.At the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, the department also announced additional funding of £160 million in 2022/23, £180 million in 2023/24, and £170 million in 2024/25, compared to the 2021/22 financial year, for local authorities to increase hourly rates paid to childcare providers.In July 2022, the department announced measures to increase take-up of childcare support and to reduce the costs and bureaucracy facing providers. These plans aim to give providers more flexibility and autonomy, and attract more people to childminding, while encouraging the growth of childminder agencies, enabling greater access to this flexible affordable form of care.The department also has a campaign underway via the Childcare Choices website to ensure that every parent knows about the government-funded support they are eligible for to save money on their childcare bills. Childcare Choices is accessible here: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

Students: Finance

Cherilyn Mackrory: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of the rise in the cost of living on the finances of students.

Robert Halfon: Decisions on student support are taken on an annual basis. The department recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year and that have impacted students. Many higer education (HE) providers have hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance. There is £261 million of student premium funding available this academic year to support disadvantaged students who need additional help. The department has worked with the Office for Students to ensure universities support students in hardship, using both hardship funds and drawing on the student premium.In addition, all households will save on their energy bills through the Energy Price Guarantee and the £400 Energy Bills Support Scheme discount. Students who buy their energy from a domestic supplier are eligible for the energy bills discount. The Energy Prices Bill introduced on 12th October 2022 includes the provision to require landlords to pass benefits they receive from energy price support, as appropriate, onto end users. Further details of the requirements under this legislation will be set out in regulations.The department has continued to increase living costs support with a 2.3% increase for maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for the 2022/23 academic year. Students who have been awarded a loan for living costs for the 2022/23 academic year that is lower than the maximum, and whose household income for the 2022/23 tax year has dropped by at least 15% compared to the income provided for their original assessment, can apply for their entitlement to be reassessed.In addition, maximum tuition fees, and the subsidised loans available to pay them, remain at £9,250 for the 2022/23 academic year in respect of standard full-time courses.The department is also freezing maximum tuition fees for the 2023/24 and 2024/25 academic years. By 2024/25, maximum fees will have been frozen for seven years. As well as reducing debt levels for students, the continued fee freeze will help to ensure that the HE system remains sustainable, while also promoting greater efficiency at providers.The department is reviewing options for uprating maximum loans and grants for the 2023/24 academic year, and an announcement will follow in the autumn. We need to ensure the HE student finance system remains financially sustainable, and the costs of HE are shared fairly between students and taxpayers, not all of whom have benefited from going to university. At a time of tight fiscal restrictions we will need to consider spending on student finance alongside other priorities.

Department of Education: Redundancy Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what total amount of money has been paid out by her Department in severance payments for former (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers since 29 June 2022; how much of that money has subsequently been repaid to her Department as a result of individuals (A) rejecting the payment or (B) returning to new roles; and in how many cases where individuals were in post for (I) 0-3 months, (II) 3-6 months, (III) 6-12 months and (IV) more than 12 months has their full severance payment been retained as of 2 November 2022.

Nick Gibb: The rules around ministerial severance payments are set out in legislation under the Ministerial and other Pensions and Salaries Act 1991. Details of the severance payments made to Ministers when leaving office are published in the Departments’ annual reports and accounts.Similarly, the provision of severance payments for special advisers is set out in the model contract, which is available on GOV.UK, including provisions for repayment of severance if reappointed. The cost of severance payments made to special advisers across Government is published annually by the Cabinet Office.

Playgrounds: Disability

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to school play areas for children with disabilities; and what plans she has to improve access for disabled children.

Claire Coutinho: The department does not collect information on the adequacy of access to school play areas for children with disabilities. The department publishes area guidelines for schools in Building Bulletin 103: Area Guidelines for Mainstream Schools, and specific guidance for special educational needs and disability (SEND) schools and alternative provision (AP) sites in Building Bulletin 104: Area Guidelines for SEND and alternative provision, which can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/905692/BB103_Area_Guidelines_for_Mainstream_Schools.pdf and here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/905693/BB104.pdf.These documents include guidance and expectations around size, type, and design of outdoor PE space, informal and social areas, and the use of habitat areas.Schools must also comply with their duties under the Equality Act 2010, including making reasonable adjustments and carrying out accessibility planning for disabled pupils. Schools must prepare and implement accessibility plans which should include plans for improving the physical environment of schools to enable disabled pupils to take better advantage of education, benefits, facilities and services provided. Ofsted may review a school’s accessibility plan as part of school inspections.In March 2022 the department announced High Needs Provision Capital Allocations amounting to over £1.4 billion of new investment. This funding is to support local authorities to deliver new places for academic years 2023/24 and 2024/25, and improve the suitability and accessibility of existing provision for children and young people with SEND or who require AP. It is ultimately up to local authorities to determine how to best prioritise their funding to address their local priorities, including improving the accessibility of school play areas, and they can work with any school in their local area to do so.

Alternative Education and Special Educational Needs

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the outcomes of the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and Alternative Provision Green Paper consultation.

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the capacity of local authorities to meet the workforce requirements for the implementation of the SEND and Alternative Provision strategy.

Claire Coutinho: The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper, published in March 2022, set out proposals for consultation, to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need alternative provision.The Department for Education has been having regular meetings with Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) officials to discuss the findings from the SEND and AP green paper consultation. We continue to work with them to develop our policy proposals.Department officials also work closely with DLUHC officials regarding the government’s work to support local authorities to manage their high needs systems sustainably in the immediate future. We have already made 14 Safety Valve agreements with local authorities to support the sustainable management of their high needs budgets for the benefit of children and young people and will work with up to a further 20 local authorities in the 2022/23 financial year. We are also currently working with 55 local authorities to address immediate pressures in their local systems, taking a diagnostic approach to helping them improve delivery of SEND services for children and young people, while ensuring services are sustainable.

Teachers: Mathematics and Physics

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the take up of teacher training places in (a) maths and (b) physics: and if she will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help secondary schools recruit adequate numbers of (a) maths and (b) physics teachers; and if she will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many vacancies there were for (a) maths and (b) physics teachers in secondary schools in England at the beginning of the 2022-23 academic year; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Department is investing £181 million in financial incentives to attract high quality graduates into a career in teaching, including tax-free bursaries worth £27,000 and tax-free scholarships worth £29,000, to encourage talented trainees to train in mathematics and physics.For the 2023/24 academic year, the Department has extended bursary and scholarship eligibility to all non-UK national trainees in physics. This is part of a wider package of new measures to make teaching in England even more attractive to the best teachers and trainee teachers from around the world.The Department launched a pilot initial teacher training course in spring 2022, called ‘Engineers Teach Physics’, designed to encourage engineering graduates and career changers with an engineering background to consider a career as a physics teacher. This year the Department is expanding the pilot to a national roll out.From autumn 2022, the Department is offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 tax-free for mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools, including in Education Investment Areas. This will support recruitment and retention of specialist teachers in these subjects and in the schools and areas that need them most.Information on the state-funded school workforce in England, including the number of teacher vacancies by subject in secondary schools, is published in the annual ‘School Workforce in England’ national statistic, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.Figures for November 2022 will be published in June 2023. The latest information from November 2021 shows that there were 232 mathematics and 17 physics teacher vacancies in state-funded schools in England. This can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/bf345e04-0e82-4db4-9ea0-08dabce49219.

Apprentices: Taxation

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of the (a) level 2, (b) level 3, (c) level 4, (d) level 5, (e) level 6, and (f) level 7 apprenticeships started in each year since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy were commenced in each different region of England.

Robert Halfon: The attached file contains apprenticeship starts in England, reported to date, from the 2016/17 academic year onwards and broken down by detailed apprenticeship level and region.Further information on apprenticeship starts can be found in the apprenticeships and traineeships statistics publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships. Apprenticeship starts (xlsx, 41.1KB)

Schools: Apprentices

Anne Marie Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what the highest performing schools are for apprenticeship starts for level 3 qualified 18-year-olds from the latest available data held by her Department; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Halfon: The department recognises that destination measures may have been affected by the broader impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including school and college closures during 2020 and 2021 and alternative grading arrangements.The department publishes destinations after 16 to 18 study of level 3 students from schools and colleges in England. The figures show sustained destinations, where activity has taken place for at least six contiguous months in the destination year, rather than starts.The latest data shows the activity of students deemed to have reached the end of 16 to 18 study in 2020, and their activity in the following academic year. This data can be found here: https://content.explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/api/releases/02e037c5-601f-4900-def8-08da96ef9e97/files/779e3c8d-8300-4fc1-cfbd-08daa212051a.School data can be accessed via the Find school and college performance website, available at: https://www.gov.uk/school-performance-tables.

Multiply Programme

Tony Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of whether there will be an underspend in the Multiply programme budget for the 2022-23 financial year; and whether any underspend could be carried forward into the 2023-24 financial year.

Robert Halfon: The department has launched Multiply to boost funding for adult numeracy, helping people build their confidence in using numeracy at work or in everyday life and gain a maths qualification.Up to £270 million is available to local authorities in England across the three years of the programme. Multiply is provided as a Section 31 ringfenced grant, given the programme’s primary objective is to improve functional adult numeracy.The prospectus for Multiply has set out a menu of interventions for local areas to draw down from. Each local authority in England has submitted an investment plan, which outlines their annual predicted spend. Payments in Year 1, the 2022/23 financial year, have been made on that basis.The department will monitor delivery against these investment plans, including facilitating peer support across local areas and sharing intelligence on what is successful. It is important that local interventions deliver value for money. As the Multiply prospectus sets out, any underspends will be recovered by the department. Further information on how underspends will be managed is set out in our technical guidance available to all local areas.HM Treasury rules stipulate that the department cannot carry underspends between financial years. This also applies to the wider programme.

Students: Anxiety

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase attendance in post-16 education for students with anxiety.

Robert Halfon: The mental health and wellbeing of young people is a priority for this government, and we know post-16 providers can play a critical role in this. Colleges that take an effective whole-college approach are best placed to promote and support learners’ mental health and wellbeing, which can in turn can improve attendance.The department has coordinated several programmes that are available to colleges to support the mental health of post-16 learners, including those with anxiety. This has included the opportunity for all colleges in England to access senior mental health leads training by 2025, and a £79 million boost to young people mental health support, including expanding Mental Health Support Teams, to bring colleges closer with mental health professionals in their local area.Colleges funded through the £5.4 million College Collaboration Fund developed new creative ways to support learner mental health and wellbeing, with resources available to all Further Education (FE) providers online, while the Challenge Competition Fund has delivered project funding which has involved FE colleges, such as the University of Keele’s project to integrate a ‘whole community’ approach to mental health, including both FE and higher education providers in the region.As part of our commitment to a long-term education recovery plan, the department is investing over £800 million across the next three academic years to fund an average of 40 additional learning hours for band 5 and T Level students in 16 to 19 education. The additional hours can be used to support areas where there are barriers for learners to effectively access and engage with teaching and learning, which can include their mental health.

Apprentices: Taxation

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what proportion of apprenticeship levy funds spent by employers were spent on Level (a) 2, (b) 3, (c) 4, (d) 5, (e) 6 and (f) 7 apprenticeships in each year since the introduction of that levy.

Robert Halfon: The below table shows the proportion of the apprenticeship budget spent on apprenticeships by level since the 2017/18 financial year. 2017/182018/192019/202020/21Level 243.9%34.6%27.4%20.1%Level 347.6%48.3%47.0%44.4%Level 43.6%6.1%8.0%9.7%Level 53.0%5.0%6.6%7.8%Level 61.5%3.7%5.9%9.3%Level 70.3%2.4%5.2%8.7%Total100%100%100%100% Apprenticeship budget spend for the 2021/22 financial year will be published in the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s annual report and accounts in due course.Employers design apprenticeship standards, choose which apprenticeships they offer and when, in order to meet their skills needs.

Apprentices: Taxation

Mr Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of Level (a) 2, (b) 3, (c) 4, (d) 5, (e) 6 and (f) 7 apprenticeships started in each year since the introduction of the apprenticeship levy were employed by organisations that (i) did and (ii) did not pay the apprenticeship levy.

Robert Halfon: The attached file contains breakdowns of apprenticeship starts by detailed apprenticeship level and funding type, for example, whether an apprenticeship start was funded by apprenticeship service account (ASA) levy funds. Further information on apprenticeship starts can be found in the ‘Apprenticeships and traineeships’ statistics publication at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships.Note: (1) Starts supported by ASA levy funds estimates are based on organisations registered with an Apprenticeship Service Account, who have access to levy funds, and have used them to fund an apprenticeship.(2) Due to the transfer of unused apprenticeship levy funds from one business to another business, the starts supported by ASA levy funds estimates will include starts at non-levy-paying organisations arising a result of the transfer of levy-funds to the recipient's ASA and their subsequent use to fund an apprenticeship.77373 table (pdf, 35.3KB)

Department for International Trade

Exports: Research

Angus Brendan MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Institute in Germany linking export support services to R&D applications to inform the work of her Department and its links with Innovate UK.

Andrew Bowie: The important link between trade and innovation is reflected throughout the UK Innovation Strategy and, under the Export Strategy, the Department for International Trade (DIT) provides business support across sectors and all stages from research to commercialisation, aligning with Innovate UK and other organisations to promote UK solutions and expertise globally. This includes showcasing UK innovations at international fora - including the ‘Innovation in Medical Technologies’ brochure and MedTech company directory launched at the Medica trade fair this month. DIT already works with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Institute on shared objectives, including collaborating on an Innovate UK Artificial Intelligence mission to Germany.

Department for International Trade: Email

Nick Thomas-Symonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, whether she has sent private Government business to her personal email address.

Greg Hands: There is a place for the use of a variety of digital channels in fast moving modern environments. Ministers will have informal conversations from time to time, in person or remotely, and relevant content from such discussions is passed back to officials. They will also use a variety of digital communications channels for personal, political and Parliamentary matters.

Trade Agreements: Small Businesses

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps she is taking to help small businesses benefit from trade deals.

Nigel Huddleston: Supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is vital for the growth of UK trade. Therefore, in all Free Trade Agreements the government seeks a dedicated SME chapter and SME-friendly provisions throughout. These signpost SMEs towards the information they need to pursue new trading opportunities and make informed decisions. Businesses wishing to benefit from Free Trade Agreements can access dedicated resources every step of the way. This includes The Department for International Trade’s comprehensive offer for businesses, which features step-by-step guides on our great.gov.uk portal, opportunities to learn through our Export Academy, or one-to-one support from our Export Support Service and International Trade Advisers.

Church Commissioners

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

Jim Shannon: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, whether the Church of England has had recent discussions with representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church on the conflict in Ukraine.

Andrew Selous: The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ met online earlier in the year, and channels of communication remain open. A brief meeting took place between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Russian Orthodox delegates at the World Conference of Churches Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany (31 August to 8 September 2022) where there was a robust exchange. The Archbishop of Canterbury also met with leaders of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.The Church continues to pray for an immediate ceasefire and a return to dialogue in order to secure a negotiated peace settlement. The Church calls on all parties to respect the principles of international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure and for the humane treatment of all prisoners of war.

Ukraine: Armed Conflict

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent discussions the Church of England has had with the Russian Orthodox Church on the conflict in Ukraine.

Andrew Selous: The Archbishop of Canterbury and the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus’ met online earlier in the year, and channels of communication remain open. A brief meeting took place between the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Russian Orthodox delegates at the World Conference of Churches Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany (31 August to 8 September 2022) where there was a robust exchange. The Archbishop of Canterbury also met with leaders of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.The Church continues to pray for an immediate ceasefire and a return to dialogue in order to secure a negotiated peace settlement. The Church calls on all parties to respect the principles of international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure and for the humane treatment of all prisoners of war.

Clergy

Jim Shannon: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Church of England is taking to strengthen its parish ministry.

Andrew Selous: The Church Commissioners intend to distribute £1.2 billion between 2023 and 2025, up 30% from £930 million in the current three-year period, to support the Church’s mission and ministry, including through parishes across England. The core of the extra funding will be channelled into the revitalisation of parish and local ministry and go some way to continue enabling local parishes to serve their communities and the whole nation. The distributions will help fund dioceses’ plans by reaching more young and disadvantaged people, radically cutting the Church’s carbon footprint, and addressing issues of racial justice.During the cost of living crisis, the Church Commissioners have worked with the Archbishops’ Council to provide £15 million for dioceses, both rural and urban, to help churches struggling to pay energy costs. The fund will help churches to remain as centres of worship and pastoral care and will also make a key difference in helping churches to continue opening their buildings for vital practical support for their communities over the winter through social action such as food banks and warm hubs.Funding from the Church Commissioners has helped to enable the continued rise in the numbers of ordinands in training, who will be the parish clergy of the future, and the most recent data from the 2020 Ministry Statistics are available here: Ministry Statistics 2020 report . An updated document is in the process of being compiled.

Churches: Rural Areas

Jim Shannon: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what steps the Commissioners are taking to help ensure rural parishes are supported in providing assistance to parishioners in need.

Andrew Selous: The Church Commissioners intend to distribute £1.2 billion between 2023 and 2025, up 30% from £930 million in the current three-year period, to support the Church’s mission and ministry, including through parishes across England. The core of the extra funding will be channelled into the revitalisation of parish and local ministry and go some way to continue enabling local parishes to serve their communities and the whole nation. The distributions will help fund dioceses’ plans by reaching more young and disadvantaged people, radically cutting the Church’s carbon footprint, and addressing issues of racial justice.In addition, during the cost of living crisis, the Church Commissioners have worked with the Archbishops’ Council to provide £15 million for dioceses, both rural and urban, to help churches struggling to pay energy costs. The fund will help churches to remain as centres of worship and pastoral care and will also make a key difference in helping churches to continue opening their buildings for vital practical support for their communities over the winter through social action, such as food banks and warm hubs.

Church of England: Longfleet

Sir Robert Syms: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what assessment the Church of England has made of the implications for its policies on the proper use of Church moneis of the case in the ecclesiastical Parish of Longfleet, St Mary's, Poole; what episcopal oversight was there of that case and when the Commisioners were informed of the details; and if the Commissioners will take steps to share lessons learned for best practice with other diocese.

Andrew Selous: The Church Commissioners have indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Ukraine: Refugees

Jim Shannon: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, what recent steps the Church of England has taken to help support Ukrainian refugees.

Andrew Selous: The toolkit published on the Church of England website contains information for parishes and individuals seeking to respond and is updated regularly with the latest advice and guidance: https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/community-action/war-ukraine-respondingNumbers being hosted continue to rise. We are aware of particularly good models in the London and Canterbury dioceses, and other dioceses have partnered with Citizens UK, working collaboratively to deliver partnerships for hosting. Many churches are also working on welcome and education programmes, and community hubs.The Church is also addressing concerns around the risk of exploitation and modern slavery facing Ukrainian refugees, through the work of the Clewer Initiative with national and diocesan safeguarding bodies.

Refugees: Ukraine

Jim Shannon: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, if the Church of England will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing the use of parish halls free of charge for (a) English classes for Ukrainian refugees and (b) community hubs for rurally based Ukrainians to meet.

Andrew Selous: There are a number of such welcome hub initiatives already taking place in church premises. The decision to waive or reduce fees for use of premises is at the discretion of the Parochial Church Council or relevant management committee.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans: Identity Cards

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Veterans' ID card scheme for (a) those who left the Armed Forces before 2018 and (b) other veterans.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Veterans’ Recognition Scheme has a two-phase rollout. Phase one is complete, with Service leavers receiving a HM Armed Forces Veterans’ Recognition Card as part of the discharge process since December 2018. Phase two will extend the scheme to existing veterans so they can more quickly, easily and securely prove they served in the UK Armed Forces. The Government remains committed to delivering Veterans’ Recognition Cards and will advise of a timescale for the final delivery of phase two when this work is complete The ID card is just one way to recognise veterans for their service to the UK. The further roll-out of cards will also help services and charities confirm veteran status quickly and effectively. The Ministry of Defence is confident that the ID cards supplied to veterans effectively fulfil their purpose. In order to measure their effectiveness, the Office for Veterans’ Affairs are conducting a ‘Veteran ID Card Use and Experience’ survey which was launched in October, the results of which will be published in due course.

Detention Centres: Manston

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of the Secretary of State for the Home Department's travel to and from Manston asylum processing site via a Chinook helicopter on 3 November 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces personnel were required to accompany her in order for a Chinook helicopter to be used to fly her to the Manston asylum processing site on 3 November 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Chinook helicopter used to transport the Secretary of State for the Home Department to the Manston asylum processing site on 3 November 2022 was diverted away from defence tasks in order to be used for that journey.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how long the journey between Dover and the Manston asylum processing site took via Chinook helicopter on 3 November 2022.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which RAF base the Chinook helicopter used to fly the Home Secretary to Manston asylum processing centre on 3 November 2022 is usually stationed at.

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much fuel was used by the Chinook helicopter in transporting her to the Manston asylum processing site on 3 November 2022.

James Heappey: The Chinook flight for the Home Secretary was incorporated into a routine training sortie, for the operational crew of four personnel, based at RAF Odiham. The duration of the training sortie was three and a half hours, including the 30-minute legs from and to Manston, during which the Home Secretary was embarked. It is not possible to separate the costs of these legs from the wider training sortie. The Chinook was not diverted away from other defence tasks.

Detention Centres: Manston

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what costs were incurred by (a) his Department and (b) the Home Department for the Secretary of State for the Home Department's flight in a Chinook from Dover to Manston on 3 November 2022.

James Heappey: The Chinook flight for the Home Secretary was incorporated into a routine training sortie. The costs of the legs for which the Home Secretary and her staff were embarked cannot be separated from the cost of the wider sortie.

Department for Work and Pensions

Local Housing Allowance: Rents

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of relinking Local Housing Allowance rates to the lowest 30 per cent of local rents.

Mims Davies: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions reviews Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates annually and a decision will be announced in due course. In April 2020 LHA rates were increased to the 30th percentile of local rents. This investment of nearly £1 billion provided 1.5 million claimants with an average £600 more housing support in 2020/21. For those who require additional support with housing costs, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) are available from local authorities. Since 2011 we have provided almost £1.5 billion in DHPs.

Employment: Poverty

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the level of in-work poverty in the UK in comparison with other industrialised countries.

Mims Davies: In-work poverty is measured differently internationally and making comparisons would not be robust. Measuring in-work poverty in the UK is something we do take seriously and is reported on. Statistics on in-work poverty levels in 19/20 are available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/ on the HBAI dataset. It is not possible to provide a robust estimate for 2020/21 due to the impact the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic had on data quality. Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at:https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Department for Work and Pensions: Redundancy Pay

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what total amount of money has been paid out by his Department in severance payments for former (a) Ministers and (b) special advisers since 29 June 2022; how much of that money has subsequently been repaid to his Department as a result of individuals (A) rejecting the payment or (B) returning to new roles; and in how many cases where individuals were in post for (I) 0-3 months, (II) 3-6 months, (III) 6-12 months and (IV) more than 12 months has their full severance payment been retained as of 2 November 2022.

Mims Davies: The Provision of severance payments for Ministers is set out in legislation. Details of the severance payments made to ministers when leaving office are published in departments’ annual reports and accounts. Similarly, the provision of severance payments for special advisers is set out in the Model Contract, which is available on gov.uk, including provisions for repayment of severance if reappointed. The cost of severance payments made to special advisers across government is published annually by the Cabinet Office.

Jobcentres: Armed Forces

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual cost is of employing an armed forces champion in a job centre plus district.

Mims Davies: The annual cost of employing an Armed Forced Champion in financial year 2021-22 was £40,719 based on Armed Forces Champions located nationally, including locally attributable non staff costs, but not support staff and infrastructure costs.

Jobcentres: Armed Forces

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many armed forces champions work in Jobcentres.

Mims Davies: Please see below table for data relating to Armed Forces Champions working in Jobcentres.As the role is not a stand-alone role (i.e. it is in addition to the role of a Work Coach or leader) we have provided the number of Champions which is Staff In Post and also the Full time Equivalents (FTE) that this equates to. Armed Forces Champions  Job titleStaff in postFTE(UCJC) Armed Forces Champion Lead.86.12(UCJC) Armed Forces Champion.4938.69TOTAL5744.81

Members: Correspondence

John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, when his Department will respond to the letters of 13 September and 7 October from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare on behalf of his constituent David Chadwick.

Mims Davies: A reply was sent to the hon. Member of Weston-super-Mare by the Department for Work and Pensions’ Director for Retirement Services, on behalf of the Secretary of State, on 7 November 2022.

Employment: Poverty

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether her Department has made an assessment of actions that Government can take to help raise awareness among UK employers of the issue of in-work poverty.

Mims Davies: We recognise the importance of engaging with employers to tackle the issue of in-work poverty and are considering the recommendations set out in the In-Work Progression Commission report and will respond formally in due course. We are in the early stages of rolling-out DWP’s new in-work progression offer. This offer will be supported by the recruitment of 37 Progression Champions. Progression Champions will work with key partners, including local government, employers, and skills providers to identify and develop local progression opportunities.

Social Security: Employment

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the total social security cost for people in-work.

Mims Davies: The Department does not keep this information centrally and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.

Carers: Cost of Living

Lee Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans his Department has to provide further financial support to Kinship Carers to help with the cost of living.

Mims Davies: The Government understands the pressures people are facing, with the cost of living. That is why the Government introduced a £37 billion Cost of Living support package, which ensures that the most vulnerable households will receive at least £1,200 this year. The £650 Cost of Living Payment, split into two payments for those on means-tested benefits, is one of a number of measures included in the Government’s support package. To be eligible for a Cost of Living Payment, claimants must have received a payment (or later receive a payment) of one of the qualifying means-tested benefits during the eligibility period. The eligibility period for the second £324 payment is 26 August to the 25 September 2022. Depending on personal circumstances, kinship carers may be eligible for means-tested benefits, including Universal Credit and Child Tax Credit. In addition, a non-repayable £400 discount on energy bills is available for all domestic electricity customers in Great Britain and earlier this year, a £150 non-repayable rebate in Council Tax bills benefited all households in Bands A-D in England. To find out more about the Government’s cost of living support, visit: Cost of Living Payment - GOV.UK

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Plastics: Waste

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits on introducing a specific target for 2025 to reduce single use plastic by 50 per cent under the Environment Act.

Rebecca Pow: We have not assessed the merits of introducing a specific plastic reduction target under the Environment Act 2021. We consulted earlier this year on a target for reducing all residual waste excluding major mineral waste which we consider will lead to a more holistic and balanced environmental outcome. Our consultation sets out the rationale for the Government’s proposed choice.

Plastics: Waste

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of implementing a mandatory corporate reporting on plastic reduction to assist in working towards eliminating single-use plastics.

Rebecca Pow: No formal assessment has been made of the potential merits of implementing a mandatory corporate reporting on plastic reduction to assist in working towards eliminating single-use plastics. However, members of the UK Plastics Pact (UKPP), run by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) and supported by HM Government, have already voluntarily committed to reducing plastic waste, which the UKPP reports on annually. UKPP members are responsible for the majority of plastic packaging sold through UK supermarkets and approximately two thirds of all plastic packaging placed on the UK market. This reporting includes UKPP member progress towards eliminating a number of single-use plastic applications. Their most recent progress report can be found here: The UK Plastics Pact Annual Report 2020-21.pdf (wrap.org.uk) Under packaging Extended Producer Responsibility (pEPR), packaging producers will also be required to report the weight of materials they have supplied each year, which will include how much plastic they have used in their packaging. This will form part of the evidence trail used to determine each producer’s recycling obligation and help track the weight of materials, including plastic, used and recycled each year. pEPR will place fees on packaging producers based on the amount and type of packaging they produce each year, thereby discouraging them from using excessive packaging and benefiting those who use reusable packaging.

Batteries: Recycling

Ian Levy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) stakeholders on the potential merits of developing a British market for battery recycling.

Rebecca Pow: a) I have not had discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the potential merits of developing a British market for battery recycling. b) Defra will be consulting on improvements to the batteries regulations in 2023. This has and will continue to include routine engagement with stakeholders on all the options for treatment of waste batteries, including recycling.

Water Supply

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the (a) national water infrastructure and (b) steps being taken by water companies to reduce leaks.

Rebecca Pow: HM Government recognises the need to improve the resilience of our water supplies and is committed to a twin track approach to improving water resilience. This involves investing in new supply infrastructure and action to reduce water company leaks and improve water efficiency. The National Framework for Water Resources, published in March 2020, sets out the strategic water needs for England to 2050 and beyond. The Framework sets out how we will reduce demand, halve leakage rates, develop new water supply infrastructure, move water to where itis needed, increase drought resilience of water supplies, and reduce the need for drought measures. Before the end of this year, water companies will publish their statutory draft Water Resources Management Plans for consultation, that will set out how they will improve drought resilience, secure water supplies, reduce leakage and improve water efficiency in the long term. HM Government expects water companies to take action to reduce levels of leakage and has consistently challenged them on their performance. Water companies have committed to a government endorsed target to reduce leakage by 50% sector-wide by 2050. As a first step, Ofwat has set requirements for water companies to cut leaks by 16% and reduce mains bursts by 12% by 2025. In July, Ofwat reported that industry wide leakage has reduced by 11% since 2017-18.

Cats: Imports

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will take steps to increase the minimum age for importing cats from 15 weeks to six months.

Gavin Newlands: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to ban the import of cats that have been declawed.

Rebecca Pow: The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill was re-introduced to the House of Commons in May and will progress to Report stage as soon as Parliamentary time allows.The Animal Welfare (Kept Animals) Bill introduces measures relating to the low welfare movements of pets into the United Kingdom and includes powers to introduce further restrictions on pet travel and on the commercial import of pets on welfare grounds, via secondary legislation.In August 2021, HM Government launched a consultation on how these powers should be used. The consultation sought views on whether maintaining the existing requirements in relation to cats and kittens was the right approach. We are currently analysing the replies to this consultation and will publish our response in due course.

Fly Tipping: CCTV

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will make an assessment of (a) the effectiveness of CCTV cameras in tackling fly tipping and (b) the adequacy of support available to help local authorities obtain CCTV footage in roadside areas.

Rebecca Pow: This year, as part of the Fly-Tipping Interventions grant scheme, we provided over £450,000 across 11 councils to help them implement a range of measures to tackle fly-tipping. Many of the projects are utilising CCTV to support enforcement activity, such as Artificial Intelligence enabled CCTV and the integration of CCTV with a digital education tool. Initial feedback from these projects is positive and case studies will be made available on the National Fly-Tipping Prevention Group website in due course.

Home Office

China: Intelligence Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has had recent discussions with her counterpart in the Netherlands on the operation of unlicensed police stations by the Chinese government.

Tom Tugendhat: As I said to the House in my statement on 1 November, reports of undeclared ‘police stations’ in the UK are of course very concerning and are taken extremely seriously. Any foreign country operating on UK soil must abide by UK law.In the specific case of the alleged overseas police stations, as I stated to the House on the 1 November, I have spoken to the police and I am assured that they are investigating allegations of unlawful activity. It would be inappropriate for me to comment further on operational matters, including on the status of potential international collaboration.We do maintain a good relationship with various international counterparts and regularly engage with others on the issue of transnational repression more widely.

Albania: Undocumented Migrants

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions her Department has had with the French government on trends in the level of Albanian migrants crossing the Channel from France to England.

Robert Jenrick: The UK maintains regular contact with the Government of France on our joint cooperation to tackle illegal migration in order to respond effectively to new and emerging migration challenges including the concerning increase in Albanian nationals arriving by small boat. The UK is also working in tandem with the Government of Albania to urgently implement new measures to address the current crisis and also longer-term drivers. We remain committed to engaging with international partners on a ‘whole of route’ approach to addressing the challenges of, and risks posed by, irregular migration.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what regulation is in place where hosts under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme are employing their Ukranian guests.

Felicity Buchan: Guests under the Ukraine schemes have the same rights and responsibilities as British employees at work for the duration of their permission to stay. The Department for Work and Pensions has a single point of contact for all businesses expressing an interest in employing people from Ukraine. Information is available here. Legislation is in place which exempts those arriving from Ukraine from the Habitual Residence Test and Past Presence Test, giving them immediate access to benefits and employment opportunities. The Homes for Ukraine guidance for sponsors can be accessed here.

Freeports

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether it is his Department’s policy that existing free ports can apply to (a) become investment zones and (b) contain investment zones within them.

Olivia Blake: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what his Department's definition of a deregulated planning process is; what planning process will be used inside investment zones; and whether that process will be used outside them.

Lee Rowley: Policy announcements will be made in the usual way..

Levelling Up Fund

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will publish the anticipated timescale for the Department to assess and determine bids by local authorities to the Levelling Up Fund.

Dehenna Davison: Following the bid deadline on 2nd August, all bids submitted to the second round of the Levelling Up Fund are being assessed in line with our published guidance. I look forward to the Government announcing the successful bids before the end of the year.

Coastal Areas: Regional Planning and Development

Brandon Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to level up coastal communities.

Dehenna Davison: I refer my Rt. Hon. Friend to the answer to Question UIN 54542 on 19 October 2022.

Coastal Areas: Regional Planning and Development

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans his Department has to issue funding calls targeted to coastal communities.

Dehenna Davison: I refer my Hon. Friend to the answer to Question UIN 54542 on 19 October 2022.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities: Public Consultation

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he is taking steps to ensure that representatives of the deaf community are consulted on the development of his Department's policies on (a) deprived communities and (b) disability.

Dehenna Davison: The department complies with the Public Sector Equality Duty to consider the needs and disadvantages faced by people with protected characteristics.Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. Details of ministerial meetings with external organisations are published on GOV.UK.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether hosts under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme who are employing their Ukranian sponsorees are permitted to charge the accommodation offset against the National Minimum Wage in addition to receiving the Government payment for hosting.

Felicity Buchan: No, lead sponsors are not eligible for the monthly thank you payment if they are charging rent from their guests.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart in the last 12 months on the Baháʼís and allegations of the destruction of private property and seizure of private land.

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has met with the Baháʼí group of Kirklees to discuss allegations of persecution against this minority religious group.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Baha'i community in Iran is systematically persecuted by the authorities, including through expropriation of land, destruction of homes, and unfair detentions. Persecution of religious minorities is a serious human rights violation and cannot be tolerated in 2022. We have excellent links with the Baha'i community in London and will continue to work with them to advocate for the rights of the Baha'i community in Iran.We raise Iran's dire human rights record, including its treatment of the Baha'i, at all appropriate opportunities, both in London and directly via His Majesty's Ambassador in Tehran. We continue to work with partners to hold Iran to account through multilateral fora such as the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly Third Committee, where we reiterated our condemnation of Iran's persecution of the Baha'i on Wednesday 26 October.

Qatar: LGBTQ+ People

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Qatari counterpart on protecting LGBT+ football fans during the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Ministers and senior officials have raised the concerns of LGBT+ visitors to the World Cup with Qatari authorities at all levels, including Lord Ahmad and DCMS Minister Andrew with the Qatari Ambassador on 9 November, and will continue to engage on this issue ahead of the tournament. They have repeatedly committed that "everybody is welcome". We will continue to encourage equal treatment and the respect of individual rights, and identify what action the Qatari authorities are taking to match their commitment.LGBT+ rights is an issue that the UK prioritises internationally. We continue to engage with governments around the world to promote human rights and champion UK values.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the escalation of attacks on the Baha’i community in Iran.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the persecution of the Baha’I community in Iran.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will make it his policy to raise the issue of Baha’I persecution in Iran at the United Nations General Assembly.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Baha'i community in Iran is systematically persecuted by the authorities. Reports this year indicate Iran has redoubled this repression, with expropriation and repossession of land, destruction of homes, and increasing detention of members of the community. As the Minister with responsibility for the Middle East and Human Rights Lord (Tariq) Ahmad said on 5 August: persecution of religious minorities is a serious human rights violation and cannot be tolerated in 2022.We reiterated our commitment to holding Iran to account for its persecution of the Baha'i at the UN General Assembly Third Committee on Wednesday 26 October. We raise Iran's dire human rights record at all appropriate opportunities, both directly with Iranian authorities and in multilateral fora.

Brazil: Elections

Owen Thompson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he had discussions with his Brazilian counterparts on respecting the outcome of Brazil's 2022 democratic presidential election.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK has consistently made clear its firm hope that the entire country of Brazil, including all candidates and political parties, will respect core democratic principles, electoral processes and the election result. I raised this with my Brazilian counterpart, Ambassador Carlos Franҫa, during our introductory call on 10 October. The Prime Minister tweeted on 31 October, congratulating President-elect Luis Inácio Lula da Silva on his election victory and saying that he looks forward to the UK and Brazil working together to promote democratic values.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Visits Abroad

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which ministers from other Government departments had their accommodation paid for by his Department when attending meetings of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2019; and what the (a) dates and (b) cost of the accommodation purchased for each minister.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Government Ministers who form part of the UK delegation to the United Nations General Assembly cover the costs of attendance from their own departmental budgets. It is standard practice across government to publish total overseas travel cost figures for Ministers. These can be found in the published Quarterly Transparency Returns.

Chad: Demonstrations

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken with international partners to help support accountability for deaths during protests in Chad on 20 October 2022.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK resolutely supports the right to peaceful protest across the world. We call on the Chadian Government to ensure that a full and transparent investigation takes place into the events of 20 October including the deaths of civilians as well as police officers. On 20 October the former Minister for Africa tweeted her support for peaceful protest, and we will continue to use our diplomatic presence on the ground and relationships with international partners to call for restraint, dialogue and a non-violent transition to civilian and constitutional rule in Chad.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Civil Service

Angela Rayner: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will list all civil service units in his department.

Jeremy Quin: The Cabinet Office has 32 Business Units, 3 Independent Inquiries and 5 ALB’s (Arms Length Bodies) as of 1 November 2022. As below:   1Prime Minister's Office 2Cabinet Secretary Group 3Government in Parliament 4Intelligence and Security Committee 5Union and Constitution Group (operating across Cabinet Office and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities). 6COP Presidency 7Inquiries Sponsorship Team 8Economic and Domestic Secretariat 9National Security Secretariat 10Joint Intelligence Organisation 11Geospatial Commission 12Equality Hub 13Government Digital Service 14Central Digital and Data Office 15Government Communication Service 16Government Security Function 17Government Commercial Function 18Civil Service Human Resources 19Public Sector Fraud Authority and Debt 20Infrastructure and Projects Authority 21Office of Government Property 22Government Business Services 23Commercial Models 24Borders and Brexit Opportunities 25Chief Operating Officer Office 26Cabinet Office People and Places 27Cabinet Office Assurance, Finance & Controls 28Chief Digital and Information Office 29Public Bodies 30Public Inquiry Response Unit 31Civil Service Modernisation & Reform Unit 32Office for Veterans’ Affairs Independent Inquiries 33Grenfell Inquiry 34Infected Blood Inquiry 35C-19 Inquiry ALB's ALB 1Civil Service Commission ALB 2Equality and Human Rights Commission ALB 3Government Property Agency ALB 4Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists ALB 5Crown Commercial Service

Treasury

Ukraine: Military Aid

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September to Question 40737 on Ukraine: Military Aid, how much each Department contributed; and how much of each contribution came from a departmental under spend for this financial year.

John Healey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 5 September to Question 40737 on Ukraine: Military Aid, how much funding is being provided by each Department; and how much of this funding comes from Departmental under spend in the 2022-23 financial year.

John Glen: Earlier this year, the UK provided £1bn in additional support to enhance and sustain Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion. This new funding came from contributions from UK government departments and the devolved administrations’ existing budgets. All ministerial departments contributed capital from their 2022-23 budgets towards military aid for Ukraine. I refer the rt honourable member to the answer given by my predecessor (Simon Clarke MP) on 5th September 2022 to PQ UIN 14298 for the full list. Most departments committed around 1.5% of their 2022-23 capital budgets. These contributions will be formally confirmed at Supplementary Estimates, where revised departmental budgets will be published by HM Treasury in the usual way.

Public Sector: Borrowing

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of additional short-term borrowing in the 2022-23 financial year.

John Glen: The Treasury does not publish forecasts of the economy or the public finances; the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is the UK’s official forecaster. In their March 2022 forecast, the OBR projected that Public Sector Net Borrowing (PSNB) for 2022-23 would be £99.1 billion or 3.9% of GDP. Latest outturn data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows by the end of September, PSNB had reached £72.5bn. In terms of the costs of debt interest: rising inflation is pushing up our debt interest costs - in March the OBR forecast that government spending on debt interest would reach £83.0 billion in 2022-23. In September 2022, the interest payable on central government debt was £7.7 billion, 2.5bn higher than September 2021. The OBR will publish an updated fiscal forecast on 17 November, alongside the Autumn Statement, which will reflect the impact of any short-term additional borrowing on the economy and public finances.

Income

Beth Winter: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of bringing forward legislative proposals to amend the Bank of England's stability mandate to account for trends in real-terms incomes.

Andrew Griffith: An important feature of the UK’s macroeconomic framework is the operational independence of the Bank of England and the financial regulators. Part of the Treasury’s role within the framework is to set, maintain, and legislate for the overall regulatory architecture in a way that allows these independent institutions to achieve their objectives. The Bank of England has price stability and financial stability objectives. Price and financial stability are essential pre-requisites to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth. Price stability is defined in the remit letter sent to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) by the Chancellor once per year. This was last defined in October 2021 as 2% CPI year on year, and the Chancellor has fully committed to the MPC’s remit and 2% target. Since the MPC were given independence over monetary policy in 1997 CPI inflation has averaged close to the MPC’s 2% target. The Government retains full confidence in the Committee to meet their target. The Bank of England’s financial stability objective is to protect and enhance the stability of the UK financial system. The Financial Policy Committee (FPC) has a primary objective to contribute to the achievement of this objective and a secondary objective to, subject to that contribution, support the broader economic policy of His Majesty's Government. The Chancellor makes recommendations to the FPC in the remit letter sent once per year, specifying the Committee’s responsibilities in achieving these objectives. The government understands the rising cost of living is a concern for people across the UK. We have a responsibility to help those who, through no fault of their own, are paying the highest price for the inflation we face - on this basis, government support for dealing with the cost of living now totals over £37bn this year.

Taxation: G7

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of tax rates in other G7 countries on economic growth in the UK since June 2021.

Andrew Griffith: The UK is an open economy and so its economic growth will be affected by developments in its trading partners, including any impact from their fiscal policy. Despite global headwinds, the UK economy was the fasting growing economy in the G7 last year according to the IMF Global Outlook released in October. It suggested the annual Real GDP Growth Rate in the UK reached 7.4% last year, while France (the second fastest growing G7 economy in 2021) reached 6.8%. In the March 2022 Economic and Fiscal Outlook (EFO), the OBR projected the tax-to-GDP ratio to rise to 36.3% in 2026/27. Internationally, tax-to-GDP ratio in the UK is lower than in Germany (38.3%), France (45.4%) and Italy (42.9%) and higher than in the USA (24.5%), Japan (32.0%) and Canada (34.4%)

Energy: Taxation

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of revising the Investment Allowance included in the Energy Profits Levy in order to incentivise investment in renewable energy and disincentivise oil and gas extraction.

Dan Carden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the potential revenue from removal of the Investment Allowance in the Energy Profits Levy.

James Cartlidge: The Energy Profits Levy was introduced from 26 May in response to sharp increases in oil and gas prices. It is an additional 25% surcharge on UK oil and gas profits. This is on top of the existing 40% headline rate of tax and takes the combined rate of tax on profits to 65%, currently more than triple the rate paid by other businesses. The Net Zero Strategy highlighted the North Sea basin has a key role to play in contributing to the transition towards net zero, and the Government has been clear that it wants to see the oil and gas sector reinvest its profits to support the economy, jobs, and the UK’s energy security. That is why the levy includes a new 80% investment allowance to support capital expenditure on oil and gas related activities purposes. It means the total tax relief on investment nearly doubles - for every £1 businesses invest they will overall get a 91p tax saving. The Government has calculated that it expects the levy to raise over £7 billion in 2022/23, and around £28 billion over the period to 2025/26. This is inclusive of the impact of investment expenditure relief. All taxes are kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.

Public Expenditure

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a loss and damage fund as part of his Autumn Statement.

James Cartlidge: The Government is working with vulnerable countries to improve their resilience and response to climate shocks and is already funding activities that avert, minimise and address losses and damages incurred from climate shocks, including: adaptation, disaster risk reduction and improving responses following climate shocks and disasters. In response to discussions with vulnerable countries, the Prime Minister announced at COP27 that the UK was tripling its adaptation spend to £1.5bn by 2025 to help communities be better prepared and reduce the impacts of climate change. We are committed to helping developing countries deliver on their own green growth pathways. The UK, as the world leading sustainable finance centre, is helping developing countries raise finance for their green growth, including COP27 host Egypt’s $750mn first sovereign green bond issuance on the London Stock Exchange in 2020. We have also continued to build on the commitments we made at COP26 in Glasgow to support countries’ green growth, through Just Energy Transition Partnerships. The UK is delivering a $1.8bn guarantee for South Africa, as the largest sovereign donor in the total $8.5bn package, which will support coal plant decommissioning, ensuring affected communities are not left behind, and investing in renewables. The UK is a strong supporter of Disaster Risk Finance (DRF) helping people better manage the impacts of disasters. The UK committed £120m at Carbis Bay and have invested over £200m in DRF since 2014. Pre-arranged finance such as contingent credit or insurance enable quicker responses that can pre-empt damage. Early action is more cost-efficient and enables communities to recover more quickly. The UK government has also led in measures to help improve the financial resilience of vulnerable countries such as low-income countries and small island developing states in the face of severe climate shocks. At COP27, UK Export Finance announced they would become the first export credit agency in the world to offer climate resilient debt clauses (CRDCs) in its direct sovereign lending. CRDCs will allow countries to defer debt payments in the event of a severe climate shock or natural disaster and enable them to focus on responding and recovering from a crisis. The UK is working the multilateral development banks and the private sector to embed CRDCs into standard loan and bond contracts.

Planning and Infrastructure: Legislation

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to bring forward a Planning and Infrastructure Bill in this Parliament.

James Cartlidge: Infrastructure is a vital means to drive the UK’s economic growth, increasing long-term energy security and delivering Net Zero by 2050. The government remains committed to delivering high quality infrastructure in a timely manner across the UK. Further detail on the government’s legislative priorities during the remainder of this Parliament will be set out in due course.

Food: Newport West

Ruth Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to help reduce the impact of rising food costs on people living in Newport West constituency.

John Glen: The Government understands that people across the UK are worried about the rising cost of food. That is why the Government has announced £37 billion of support for the cost of living this financial year. This includes support for over 8 million lower income households through a one-off Cost of Living Payment of £650, with extra support for pensioners and those claiming disability benefits. In addition to this package, the Government has introduced the Energy Price Guarantee to support millions of households with rising energy bills this winter, which will help ease cost of living pressures more generally. In England, the Government has helped vulnerable people with the cost of food and other essentials through the temporary Household Support Fund, which is administered by local authorities. In parallel, the devolved administrations, including the Welsh Government, have received funding through the Barnett formula. It will be for the Welsh Government to decide how to allocate this additional funding.

Women and Equalities

Regional Accents: Discrimination

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals on banning discrimination against someone because of their regional accent.

Stuart Andrew: We have no plans for legislation to introduce new protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 nor is the scope of the Act a particularly good fit for those areas of life where people can experience bad treatment because of their accent.However, advancing fairness in the workplace is a key priority for this Government. We have made it clear that everyone is treated fairly in the workplace, so that they can thrive and reach their full potential. We recognise that employers stand the best chance of achieving this when they focus their efforts on effective actions which have a proven track record of improving diversity and inclusion.We have taken on board the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities (CRED) recommendations, and as part of the UK government’s response ‘Inclusive Britain’, Action 69 is the commitment to establish an Inclusion at Work Panel to examine the evidence to understand what actually works to improve inclusion in the workplace and to share that information with employers so they can take action.Made up of a panel of academics and practitioners in business it will develop and disseminate effective resources to help employers drive fairness across organisations. This will go beyond just race and ethnicity to identify actions to promote fairness for all in the workplace. It will include a programme of research and workplace trials to provide a robust evidence base and root out poor quality training.In addition, we have published guidance that sets out the steps that employees can take if they are experiencing bullying or harassment at work, which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/workplace-bullying-and-harassment.Acas provides free and impartial advice for employers and employees, and has also published useful guidance on how to deal with bullying in the workplace that we encourage individuals and employers to consider when dealing with such matters. This is available at: https://www.acas.org.uk/if-youre-treated-unfairly-at-work/being-bullied.